M&G plc – Annual report – 31 December 2021
Industry: investment management
1 Basis of preparation and significant accounting policies (extract)
1.3 Key judgements in applying accounting policies (extract)
1.5 Accounting policies (extract)
1.5.1 Basis of consolidation (extract)
(iii) Structured entities
Structured entities are those that have been designed so that voting or similar rights are not the dominant factor in deciding who controls the entity. Voting rights relate to administrative tasks. Relevant activities are directed by means of contractual arrangements. The Group invests in structured entities such as:
- Collective investment vehicles including open-ended investment companies (OEICs), Authorised Contractual Schemes (ACSs) and Luxembourg-domiciled Sociétés d’Investissement a Capital Variable (SICAVs)
- Limited partnerships
- Collateralised debt obligations
- Mortgage-backed securities
- Similar asset-backed securities.
Collective investment vehicles
The Group invests in OEICs, ACSs, SICAVs and unit trusts, which invest mainly in equities, bonds, cash and cash equivalents, and properties.
The assessment of control over OEICs, ACSs, SICAVs and unit trusts requires judgement. In assessing control, the Group determines whether it is acting as principal or agent. This includes an assessment of the scope of its decision-making authority, including rights held by third parties, which may provide these parties substantive removal rights that may affect the Group’s ability to direct the relevant activities and indicate that the Group does not have power.
In addition, the assessment considers the aggregate economic interest of the Group, which includes both direct holding and expected management fee if the fund manager is a Group company, however, management fee in most cases forms an immaterial part of the aggregate economic interest of the Group.
Holdings in such investments can fluctuate on a daily basis according to the participation of the Group and other investors in them. As a result, in determining control, the Group looks at the trend of ownership over a longer period (rather than at a point in time) to mitigate the impact of daily fluctuations which do not reflect the wider facts and circumstances of the Group’s involvement.
Consolidation assessment is performed in line with the following principles:
- where the Group manages the assets of the entity, and the aggregate of the Group’s ownership holding in the entity exceeds 50%, the Group is judged to have control over the entity;
- where the Group manages the assets of the entity, and the aggregate of the Group’s ownership holding in the entity is between 20% and 50%, the facts and circumstances of the Group’s involvement in the entity are considered, including the rights to any fees earned by the asset manager from the entity, in forming a judgement as to whether the Group has control over the entity;
- where the Group manages the assets of the entity, and the aggregate of the Group’s ownership holding in the entity is less than 20%, the Group is judged to not have control over the entity; and
- where the assets of the entity are managed externally, an assessment is made of whether the Group has existing rights that give it the ability to direct the current activities of the entity and therefore control the entity. In assessing the Group’s ability to direct an entity, the Group considers its ability relative to other investors. The Group has a limited number of OEICs and unit trusts where it considers it has such ability.
Where the Group is deemed to control these entities, they are treated as subsidiaries and are consolidated, with the interests of investors other than entities within the Group being classified as liabilities, presented as third party interest in consolidated funds.
Where the Group does not control these entities (as it is deemed to be acting as an agent) and they do not meet the definition of associates, they are carried at FVTPL within equity securities and pooled investment funds in the consolidated statement of financial position.
Where the Group initially sets up OEICs, ACSs, SICAVs and unit trusts as part of its operations through its investment management business, and invests the initial seed capital which results in a significant holding resulting in control of the fund, the Group assesses whether there is a formal plan in place to divest its holding to below the threshold triggering control within 12 months. In this situation, the vehicle is not consolidated, but classified as held for sale and carried at FVTPL.
Limited partnerships
The Group invests in a number of limited partnerships, either directly or through unit trusts, through a mix of capital and loans. These limited partnerships are managed by general partners, in which the Group holds equity.
Such interests in general partners and limited partnerships provide the Group with voting and similar rights to participate in the governance framework of the relevant activities which limited partnerships are engaged in. Accounting for the limited partnerships (including underlying investees) as subsidiaries, joint ventures, associates or other financial investments depends on the terms of each partnership agreement and the level of shareholdings in the general partners.
Other structured entities
The Group holds investments in mortgage-backed securities, collateralised debt obligations and similar asset-backed securities.
The Group consolidates the vehicles that hold the investments where the Group is deemed to control the vehicles. When assessing control over the vehicles, the factors considered include the purpose and design of the vehicle, the Group’s exposure to the variability of returns and the scope of the Group’s ability to direct the relevant activities of the vehicle, including any kick-out or removal rights that are held by third parties. The outcome of the control assessment is dependent on the terms and conditions of the respective individual arrangements, taking into account aggregate economic interest where relevant.
(iv) Third party interests
Interests of parties other than the Group in entities which the Group controls are assessed to determine whether they should be classified as financial liabilities or as non-controlling interests in equity on the statement of financial position. Puttable third party interests such as units held by external investors in unit trusts are classified as financial liabilities. Third party interests in private equity vehicles set up with finite lives are also classified as financial liabilities.
31 Structured entities
Structured entities are those that have been designed so that voting or similar rights are not the dominant factor in deciding who controls the entity. The Group invests in structured entities such as:
- Pooled investment vehicles, including OEICs, unit trusts, SICAVs and limited partnerships.
- Debt securitisation vehicles, including collateralised debt obligations, mortgage-backed securities and other similar asset-backed securities.
Structured entities which the Group is deemed to control are consolidated in the consolidated financial statements. As at 31 December 2021 and 31 December 2020, the Group has not provided, and has no intention to provide, non-contractual financial or other support to consolidated or unconsolidated structured entities that could expose the Group to a loss.
31.1 Investments in unconsolidated structured entities
The table below shows aggregate carrying amounts of the investments in unconsolidated structured entities reported in the consolidated statement of financial position:
The Group generates returns and retains the ownership risks in these investments commensurate to its participation and does not have any further exposure to the residual risks or losses of the investments or the vehicles in which it holds investments. Further details on risks associated with financial assets and how they are managed are provided in Note 33.
Included in equity securities and pooled investment funds as at 31 December 2021 were £4,610m (2020: £4,934m) of investments in structured entities managed by the Group. Investment management fees for the year ended 31 December 2021 of £444m (2020: £475m) were recognised from managing these entities.
The maximum exposure to loss for unconsolidated structured entities in which the Group holds an investment is the carrying value of the Group’s investment and the loss of future fees.
The Group also has interests in structured entities managed by the Group in which it holds no investment through the collection of investment management fees. The maximum exposure to loss for these interests is loss of future fees.
Investment management fees recognised for the year ended 31 December 2021 from managing these entities were £260m (2020: £251m).
Accounts examples 